I rented a vehicle to drive to Florida and spend some time in the gulf beaches. I reserved an intermediate sedan but in true Texas fashion, they upgraded me to a truck. A 2020 Chevy Colorado LT V6 crew cab, 4,995 miles when I received it. Overall it was a pleasant vehicle and if anyone is looking for a midsized truck I suggest checking out the Colorado.
Interior: The seats were comfortable and I experienced zero body fatigue in both the driver seat and front passenger seat. I didn't sit in the back seat so I can't comment on that. The fit and finish was overall good. The dash is all plastic, there are no soft touch materials on the dash at all which caught me off guard because the dash is overall stylish and almost looks like it is soft touch. The door panels are hard touch except for a soft arm pad on the drive and front passenger doors. The steering wheel and shifter were leather wrapped so those are nice touches. The center console/arm rest is fairly deep and the center armrest is positioned at a good height. Outward visibility is good and there are no blind spots, the rearview mirror is very effective in this truck for viewing cars approaching you from behind. The speakers sound good and the infotainment system was easy to use. There is no option to scan for radio stations, it does an automatic scan and then lists all the stations available on the screen and then you can press the radio station you want to tune in to. A simple scan button would be easier. Also, there was no way to listen to AM/FM radio while using CarPlay. Once you plug in your phone it forces you to use media from your phone. Maybe there is a way to stream FM radio while using CarPlay and I just didn't know how to do it. The interior was VERY quiet, there must be a lot of sound deadening material and there were no interior rattles present. There is also a lot of front leg room which makes it easy to move your seat up if you have rear passengers. The back seat is very usable for passengers and the cabin feels spacious with plenty of headroom.
Exterior: The standard halogen headlights while weren't the brightest, they were effective and had I no complaints with them. The windshield wipers operate smoothly, the rear step bumper is handy I suppose, but it was easier for me to just step on the tire and climb over the side of the bed. The tailgate has a soft open assist which was nice. The tires are quite beefy and have a lot of sidewall. Everything else about the exterior is subjective.
Driving Impression: The 3.6 V6 is very peppy and has more than enough grunt. From a dead stop the Colorado is fast off the line. The 8-speed auto must have a very interesting first gear ratio because during my tenure with the truck it easily beat every vehicle when accelerating from a red light. And no, I wasn't thrashing on it, it's just geared to accelerate quickly in first gear. The 8-speed auto shifts smooth, the 1-2 shift can be jumpy in traffic jams but other than that it was smooth and shifts like how must people expect a Chevy to shift. The ride is smooth and it absorbs pot holes well. It can be a bit bumpy when the pavement gets choppy however since it is a small wheelbase. At times it felt like ridding a bucking horse, but that actually put a smile on my face. The steering is predictable and gives you no fuss. The brakes are great and feel very confident. I had to hit the brakes very hard on the highway while it was raining and I was fearful that the rear end would spin out (I've had bad experiences with smaller trucks losing traction in the rear) but nope, the truck stopped on a dime and none of the tires were on the verge of spinning out. The V6 engine switches to V4 mode in light throttle situations. I only figured this out while watching the Instant Fuel Economy screen on the instrument panel, It would sometimes say "V6 Fuel Economy" and then switch to "V4 Fuel Economy". The cylinder deactivation is imperceptible, without the fuel economy screen I would have never known about the feature and when it would switch to V4 mode you would never know it. There is no shudder or vibration and no change to the engine sound.
MPG Average: 26-27 mpg highway driving 70-80mph, mostly drove 71-73 MH. No I didn't hand calculate it, I've gotten older and do not care to waste time doing that anymore.
Concerns: The power driver seat sounded like it was skipping some teeth on the seat track. It's possible this truck just had a defective power seat motor. The front passenger seat occupancy monitor located in the overhead storage console had questionable quality. The rectangular hole that it mounts into looked like it had been cut out with a butter knife and had zig zag like patterns on every edge. The analog speedometer needle doesn't stay steady at the speed you're driving (the digital MPH readout was accurate). It "twitches" or "jumps" around. My last concern is regarding the cap-less gas tank. I kept getting the fuel nozzle stuck in the filler neck every time I filled up with gas and it took a bit of wrestling to get the fill nozzle out of the filler neck. I don't know if I was doing something wrong but I have never had this issue on any other vehicle with a cap-less design. I think Chevy needs to redesign their cap-less filler neck design.
Overall: Make no mistake, this might be a midsize truck but it is 100% a truck
. I think this truck would meet the needs of 90% of the 1/2-ton pickup truck buyers. It's a great option to consider for people who want a truck but don't want a massive truck. This platform feels very capable of the outdoors and it just feels built ready for off pavement use. For people who live an active outdoor lifestyle; camping, biking, outdoor recreation, this truck would be a great option to consider. And I'll leave you with the most important detail; the frame is painted, not oil wax coated like it's Silverado brother.
Interior: The seats were comfortable and I experienced zero body fatigue in both the driver seat and front passenger seat. I didn't sit in the back seat so I can't comment on that. The fit and finish was overall good. The dash is all plastic, there are no soft touch materials on the dash at all which caught me off guard because the dash is overall stylish and almost looks like it is soft touch. The door panels are hard touch except for a soft arm pad on the drive and front passenger doors. The steering wheel and shifter were leather wrapped so those are nice touches. The center console/arm rest is fairly deep and the center armrest is positioned at a good height. Outward visibility is good and there are no blind spots, the rearview mirror is very effective in this truck for viewing cars approaching you from behind. The speakers sound good and the infotainment system was easy to use. There is no option to scan for radio stations, it does an automatic scan and then lists all the stations available on the screen and then you can press the radio station you want to tune in to. A simple scan button would be easier. Also, there was no way to listen to AM/FM radio while using CarPlay. Once you plug in your phone it forces you to use media from your phone. Maybe there is a way to stream FM radio while using CarPlay and I just didn't know how to do it. The interior was VERY quiet, there must be a lot of sound deadening material and there were no interior rattles present. There is also a lot of front leg room which makes it easy to move your seat up if you have rear passengers. The back seat is very usable for passengers and the cabin feels spacious with plenty of headroom.
Exterior: The standard halogen headlights while weren't the brightest, they were effective and had I no complaints with them. The windshield wipers operate smoothly, the rear step bumper is handy I suppose, but it was easier for me to just step on the tire and climb over the side of the bed. The tailgate has a soft open assist which was nice. The tires are quite beefy and have a lot of sidewall. Everything else about the exterior is subjective.
Driving Impression: The 3.6 V6 is very peppy and has more than enough grunt. From a dead stop the Colorado is fast off the line. The 8-speed auto must have a very interesting first gear ratio because during my tenure with the truck it easily beat every vehicle when accelerating from a red light. And no, I wasn't thrashing on it, it's just geared to accelerate quickly in first gear. The 8-speed auto shifts smooth, the 1-2 shift can be jumpy in traffic jams but other than that it was smooth and shifts like how must people expect a Chevy to shift. The ride is smooth and it absorbs pot holes well. It can be a bit bumpy when the pavement gets choppy however since it is a small wheelbase. At times it felt like ridding a bucking horse, but that actually put a smile on my face. The steering is predictable and gives you no fuss. The brakes are great and feel very confident. I had to hit the brakes very hard on the highway while it was raining and I was fearful that the rear end would spin out (I've had bad experiences with smaller trucks losing traction in the rear) but nope, the truck stopped on a dime and none of the tires were on the verge of spinning out. The V6 engine switches to V4 mode in light throttle situations. I only figured this out while watching the Instant Fuel Economy screen on the instrument panel, It would sometimes say "V6 Fuel Economy" and then switch to "V4 Fuel Economy". The cylinder deactivation is imperceptible, without the fuel economy screen I would have never known about the feature and when it would switch to V4 mode you would never know it. There is no shudder or vibration and no change to the engine sound.
MPG Average: 26-27 mpg highway driving 70-80mph, mostly drove 71-73 MH. No I didn't hand calculate it, I've gotten older and do not care to waste time doing that anymore.
Concerns: The power driver seat sounded like it was skipping some teeth on the seat track. It's possible this truck just had a defective power seat motor. The front passenger seat occupancy monitor located in the overhead storage console had questionable quality. The rectangular hole that it mounts into looked like it had been cut out with a butter knife and had zig zag like patterns on every edge. The analog speedometer needle doesn't stay steady at the speed you're driving (the digital MPH readout was accurate). It "twitches" or "jumps" around. My last concern is regarding the cap-less gas tank. I kept getting the fuel nozzle stuck in the filler neck every time I filled up with gas and it took a bit of wrestling to get the fill nozzle out of the filler neck. I don't know if I was doing something wrong but I have never had this issue on any other vehicle with a cap-less design. I think Chevy needs to redesign their cap-less filler neck design.
Overall: Make no mistake, this might be a midsize truck but it is 100% a truck